Digital Competence Assessment for Royal Malaysian Air Force Aircraft Maintenance Technicians

Aircraft mechanics need digital competencies for maintaining sophisticated, interactive, and collaborative aircraft engines and systems. The RMAF fundamental training does not assess the digital skills of technicians. Therefore, this study devised survey assessment components based on IR4.0 that incorporate digital skills and competencies for aviation maintenance tasks. This study employed seven criteria to evaluate the skills and competencies of aircraft maintenance technicians: problem solving, communication, active learning, technical knowledge, analytical and critical thinking, technological skills and experience, and lessons learned. Three expert review panels on aircraft maintenance and IR4.0 readiness validated the developed survey. The study found that ITAS technicians had the lowest mean evaluation score, 15.441 and the highest standard deviation, 8.630, indicating a wide range of variance compared to other selected squadrons. The F-statistic and p-value of the ANOVA analysis indicate < 0.001 which significantly shows that assessment scores differed across groups. Thus, in line with IR 4.0 requirements, enhancement trainings are desirable to upskill the digital skills of technicians.